Justice Report Also Hit Positive Points

A criminal justice study labeled Palm Beach County`s system as fragmented, poorly coordinated and ineffective, but Public Defender Richard Jorandby had nothing to fret over.

``The outstanding performance of the Public Defender`s Office is essential to the smooth operation of the criminal justice system in Palm Beach County,`` the $218,000 report says.

Researcher Alan Kalmanoff called Jorandby`s office ``one of the best in the country`` on Wednesday.

The Public Defender`s Office is only one aspect of a system under siege from drugs and increased crime that has risen to meet the challenge, Kalmanoff said. The court system, for all its faults, is functioning, he said.

``It is handling its caseload with relatively modest increases in resources, given the huge increases in demand,`` Kalmanoff said. ``Barely coping is still coping.``

Jon Moyle, chairman of the Criminal Justice Commission that received the report, said that ability to do the job should stand out more than the faults listed in the report.

Al Coogler, vice chairman of the commission, said the police, courts and jails are dealing with the sting of growth.

``We`re not the small communities we used to be,`` Coogler said. ``We are now a major metropolitan area.``

Kalmanoff, of the California-based Institute for Law and Policy Planning, pointed out other positive highlights of the county`s system:

-- The operation of county jails, despite crowding. ``You cannot criticize the people that run the jail system because they haven`t been given enough beds,`` he said.

-- Chief Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley, who ``would certainly be an asset to any court system.``

-- The State Attorney`s Office. Although the office was criticized for a lack of priorities, it ``has made great improvements in the area of case screenings,`` Kalmanoff said.

-- The court system at the county`s main jail, where inmates have their first appearance in court. ``They`re keeping the court system above water,`` Kalmanoff said of County Judge William Bollinger and the state attorneys assigned to the jail.

-- Some individual police departments, which have ``particular strengths.``

Lynne Mulder, a researcher with MGT of America, which handled the human services aspect of the study, said the mental health and substance-abuse agencies need to be recognized for the work they do in the face of overwhelming need. The same goes for the education system, where prevention programs can take root.